Contractor shot and killed working on home in eastern New Orleans

A 53-year-old man was shot dead around midday Tuesday while attempting to renovate a storm-damaged home in eastern New Orleans.

View full sizeMichael DeMocker, The Times-PicayuneA co-worker of Boris Scott's hangs his head as New Orleans police investigate his death on Tuesday.

The victim, a general contractor, was working with another man about 12:15 p.m. on an unoccupied home in the 4400 block of Longfellow Drive, a residential stretch just off Chef Menteur Highway, authorities said.

A gunman apparently approached and shot Boris Scott, 53, of New Orleans, several times. Scott died at the scene with wounds to his head and body, according to John Gagliano, chief investigator for the coroner.

New Orleans police said Scott died inside the home. Police have not released details on a possible motive or suspect.

Sections of eastern New Orleans have been plagued by armed robberies in recent years, partly due to the open space between swaths of unoccupied or on-the-mend homes.

At the scene Tuesday, a white commercial van sat parked in the driveway of the squat, brick, one-story home where Scott was shot. Tools and buckets littered the yard. A man in paint-splattered work clothes sat on a bucket, cradling his head in his hands.

Scott took care of his elderly mother in New Orleans and was self-employed as a contractor, his sister, Rublyn Scott, 57, said Tuesday evening.

"We have no idea why this happened," she said.

She noted that just one night earlier, her brother and her family watched the news about the city's recent spate of murders.

"We talked about all this killing and how it has to stop," she said. "Then today, it's my baby brother."

Scott's killing was the eighth murder within the past week in New Orleans.

Police ask that anyone with information about this crime call NOPD Homicide Detective Greg Hamilton at 504.658.5300 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously at 504.822.1111.